JUNE 1, 2003
Psalm 1
John 17:6-19
Psalm 1 expounds the virtues of living as God has created us to live, i.e. "...walks...in the law of the Lord" and "...on his law...meditates day and night." The New Testament indicates that this can be accomplished by following the leadership of "the spirit" and that this spiritual leadership is found in the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus, i.e. through believing on Jesus as the Son of God.
Traditional theological approaches tend to suppose that what God does, God does overtly and often instantaneously. This belief has become basic to most Christian theology because it is based on the world view that was prevalent during the time when Judeo-Christian literature, that came to be viewed as scripture, had its origins. This world view was exemplified in a variety of ways, but generally assumed an all-powerful God whose control was exercised wherever God chose and typically in an instanteous manner. When the result was perceived to be negative, it was often presumed to be Gods' judgment. When it was perceived to be positive, it was typically perceived to be an expression of God's blessing and often explained as "a miracle".
A majority response in the civilized world today is to embrace traditional theology religiously, but live as though God is not in control and that God does not work instantaneously on a "whim". Both recent and ancient history testified to a "process". Contemporary knowledge testifies to a "process". The result in societies that base the expression of their lives on "process" is an emphasis on education with the expectation that as we learn we will make progress and human life will gradually become more harmonious with the intentions of God in creation.
Furthermore, though it is not a major emphasis in much theology, it is clear that we are coming to believe (apart from much theology) that humans and God are in a partnership made possible by the nature of creation, in which humans cannot achieve valuable goals apart from the explicit work of God and that God cannot achieve valuable goals apart from the cooperation of human beings. This understanding ought to be inherent in all scientific undertakings. (Religious termonology, however, is not necessary and typically is not used in this regard.)
Learning about the "ways of God", coupled with a desire to experience and express life in harmony with Gods' ways, thus becomes an extremely important goal for human beings. We are discovering that such learning is a process and that while we never achieve perfection in either knowledge, or an expression of life, such perfection is a reasonable and exciting goal.
Spirituality should thus be viewed as a process rather than either a miracle or an emotion. Believing in Jesus should be understood as embracing and implementing his teachings in a manner that brings about positive results, rather than accepting Jesus as a sacramental offering to offset the negatives of our shortcomings (sin/sinful nature). The perfectionism which is commonly attributed to Jesus is a wonderful example of how we can and should express our own lives. The world can even be "saved" through an application of this belief.